Administrative / Biographical History

Foreign Regional Committees were established in the early 19th century to govern missionary work overseas when the Directors realised that this work was too extensive to be governed directly by the Board. Committees were established to oversee work in each geographic area. As mission work expanded, the structure of the regional committees often changed - for example, the Africa and Madagascar Committee was established in 1826, but a separate Madagascar Committee was formed in 1853. A Southern Committee covering Africa, Madagascar and the South Seas, and an Eastern Committee covering China and India were both established as part of the reorganisation of the Board in 1890. Further restructuring of the regional committees also took place after 1966, in the period leading up to the creation of the Council for World Mission in 1977. Occasional and special committees were also established to look at particular events or missions. Records of these can be found in a separate series of Foreign Office Occasional Minutes.

Arrangement

The sequence begins with the minutes of occasional committees relating to overseas regional affairs, 1840-1944. Regional Committee minutes then include the following: